Fast Phobia Cure: Claire's Story

A life long phobia cured in a single session of EFT - Claire Tulloch

At the end of the therapy session Claire was keen to test that she was really over her fear. I should stress, though, that coming face to face with what scares you IS NOT an essential part of the therapy so don't let the idea of that put you off getting the help you need!

Claire said:

My fear of daddylonglegs started when I was of primary school age after a friend threw one into my face. Since then my phobia had got worse and worse. As a teenager it was so bad that when summer came around all I wanted to do was lock myself in the house. I wouldn't let anyone leave doors or windows open and when I did leave the house I was constantly scanning doors, fences, walls etc for them. Sometimes I would have to phone my mum to come outside and let me into the house if there was one on the fence or door as I was simply frozen in fear and couldn't get past it. I was referred for therapy appointments through my GP but they were unsuccessful. Later, I paid for hypnotherapy sessions but they didn't help either. Years passed by, the phobia never left me and I dreaded every summer.

In 2011 my son was born and as he grew older I became terrified that I would pass my fear onto him. My husband was understandably frustrated at not being allowed to leave doors or windows open, particularly on very warm days and I ended up having to take fly spray with me when I left the house. It felt as though my body was on constant 'high alert' and I was nervous and jumpy. I realised that the time had come to really try to tackle my phobia. I had heard positive stories about how Diane could help others but I was still very sceptical - I just could not imagine living a life without fear of daddylonglegs.

I contacted Diane and she felt confident that she could help me so I went ahead and booked a session. Diane was so friendly and easy to talk to, I immediately felt at ease. Once I had explained how bad my phobia was Diane helped me to understand what fear is and why we feel it. One of the first things that Diane asked me was how afraid I would feel on a scale of 1-10 if I were to imagine a daddylonglegs right then - well there was no doubt about it, I told Diane it was definitely a 10! Diane suggested that we try the Emotional Freedom Tehnique which involved Diane making statements that I repeated while tapping parts of my face, head and upper body. To be honest it felt a bit silly at times and I couldn't believe that it would make any difference to my phobia.

Gradually though, I began to feel more relaxed and confident and the thought of daddylonglegs didn't seem so terrifying. After around an hour I felt my fear had significantly reduced to just a 2 out of 10. I was curious to test it for real. Diane knew of a place where there would be some daddylonglegs and we decided to go.

As we drove there I really didn't know what to expect. Sure enough there was a daddylonglegs there. When Diane picked it up and I first saw its legs sticking out between her fingers I felt a bit afraid but curious too.

I managed to touch its legs then Diane set it on the grass and I let it crawl over my hand. Even though I was doing it, I still just couldn't believe that I was actually touching a daddylonglegs! The session with Diane took around an hour and a half and in that short space of time I had gone from being locked in a 20 year long phobia to facing it full on and not feeling afraid. Diane explained to me that I would probably never love daddylonglegs (but who does?!) and that it was ok to still think that they are disgusting and creepy but that I now knew that I could live a normal life, enjoy summer, be able to pick them up if I needed to and most importantly not pass the fear onto my son.

Once back home, as I told my family about my session with Diane, they couldn't really believe it and even though I had come face to face with my fear somehow I was still sceptical. A few days later my family and I went for a walk and I felt keen to show them how my fear had vanished. I couldn't believe I was actively looking for a daddylonglegs after trying to avoid them for two decades! I found one easily and my family watched in amazement as I let it crawl onto my hand. Since then I've managed to remove two from inside my house and haven't felt worried when there have been ones on the front door - to be honest, since visiting Diane I feel like I've hardly even noticed them.

I can't thank Diane enough and just wish I'd seen her sooner. Many people made fun of my fear but if you have a true phobia there is nothing funny about it. I urge anyone with a phobia to speak to Diane - it really is life changing. I am so looking forward to playing outside with my son next summer.

Claire Tulloch Testimonial